• by Tanya Gazdik , March 13, 2011

Westin Hotels & Resorts has launched a mobile ad campaign that invites consumers to "Warm Up Your Winter."

Razorfish and Medialets created the campaign, which is running The Weather Channel for iPhone application. It leverages the touch capabilities of the iPhone to give users a sneak peak at warm weather Westin resorts.

The campaign, which runs until April 1, places an expandable banner ad on any weather page with a colder forecast and invites users to "Tap here to warm up." Upon tapping, virtual frost takes over the iPhone's screen, which can be "wiped" away to reveal a photo carousel featuring eight Westin Hotels & Resorts located in warm climates.

The carousel rotates from property to property with the swipe of a finger or a tap of the visible arrows. Within each property preview, users can tap-to-call Westin Hotels & Resorts' reservations or tap-to-visit Westin.com to make a reservation.

Razorfish, the digital agency for the brand, worked with Medialets to create and serve the ad on the Medialets mobile rich media ad platform. The Weather Channel app offers great scale and uses weather targeting in this campaign.

"On the heels of the worst winter season in decades we're excited to use this Weather Channel app to bring the Westin Resort experience to life," said Brian Povinelli, vice president of marketing for Westin Hotels & Resorts, in a statement. "Through this instinctive campaign, we can connect with a potential guest in a meaningful way by transporting them to one of our renowned resort destinations with just a swipe of their finger."

The Westin Hotels & Resorts properties included in the "Warm Up Your Winter" ad are the Westin Resort & Spa Maui, The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa Scottsdale, The Westin Resort & Spa Los Cabos, The Westin Resort & Spa Cancun, The Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa Fort Lauderdale, The Westin Resort & Spa Puerto Vallarta, The Westin St. John Resort & Villas St. John USVI, and The Westin Mission Hills Resort & Spa Palm Springs.